A myriad of different types of fibrous webs are commercially available in today's marketplace. These fibrous webs can contain chemicals designed with a particular use in mind. For example, fibrous webs can be used to deliver chemicals designed to kill pathogens, such as bacteria, when the web comes into contact with them.
However, as concern grows about allergic or toxological reactions to chemicals and about the increasing resistance of bacteria to common antibacterial agents and drug treatments, it has become more desirous to avoid harsh chemicals while still providing a bacteria removing web.
Many pathogens are generally electrostatically charged. For example, most bacteria are negatively charged. As such, pathogens, such as bacteria, are susceptible to electrostatic attraction to oppositely charged molecules. For instance, negatively charged bacteria can be attracted to a positively charged molecule, such as a cation. While this attraction may not kill the attracted bacteria, it can help remove the bacteria from its environment.
Tissue products for capturing and trapping negatively charged bacteria however, are generally limited to the application of metal cation solutions to the surface of a web during converting. For example, US Publication No. 2007/0142262 discloses saturating a web with a solution containing an aluminum cation and US Publication No. 2005/0137540 discloses dipping the wipe substrate in a solution containing an aluminum cation and squeezing off the excess. Such prior art methods generally require additional post manufacture converting, which is costly and reduces overall efficiency.
As such, a need currently exists for a tissue product that effectively captures and retains negatively charged matter, such as bacteria, which may be readily manufactured using existing tissue making machinery and without additional converting or treatment.